Display device



Nov. I 22, 1932.

T. O ROURKE DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Feb. 1. 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Z122: Olifiaurfi'e BY '1; zww awrj 64M ATTORNEY Nov. 22, 1932. T. OROURKE DISPLAYDEVICE Filed Feb. 1. 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllllllllillllllllllll IIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ll'lll llllll CA P;

III" In ollllllllull't fllllllllIllIIIIIllllilllllllllllllllll ATTORNEY Nov. 22, 1932.

T. QROU'RKE DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Feb. 1, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet, 3

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III I G 0. 4 f J u M /4 j 1. m B O- M m. 5- .I n. m l I m 5 mm mm w mm WK w m0 WWMM M M Q ATTORNEY TEX OROURKE, OF NEW YORK, N. Ya ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE] DISPLAY, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK i DISPLAY DEVICE Application filed February The device of the present invention while capable of a diversified field of usefulness in connection with the display of sign cards or the like, is peculiarly adapted for use as a portable display stand for removable sign cards and price cards, such as are commonly employed in connection with counter displays of merchandise in department stores 7 and other high class shops.

An object of the invention is torprovide a device of this character which will permit the convenient assembly of a series of interchangeable character bearing tiles or cards within a frame and will obviate both the need for printing special price tags and the need for the present practice, of pasting or otherwise securing the tiles to each other and to the frame, no means other than the .display frame itself being required to support and retainthe character bearing members in properly assembled relationship.

Another object is to permit the display in a single holder of price cards, a sign card bearing the nomenclature of the merchan disc, and a special sale card or dressing card, indicating the particular'sales event or a particular holiday season which is being celebrated.

Another object is to provide a carrier frame for the various display cards which will permit the expeditious assembly and replacement of any card and 1n which certain of the cards when applied lock other cards I against inadvertent displacement, so thatv the frame with the cards assembled in it,

may be conveniently trasported with little danger of the cards falling out, more specifically without any danger of the series of relatively small character bearing price card members becoming displaced or disarranged.

Another object is to provide a display device of this character in which the various cards may be inserted or removed without injury to them and when in place, have their 'edges thoroughly protected against casual abrasionor other damage, so that the life of the removable card elements is considerably prolonged.

Another object is to provide a display which maybe conveniently associated with 1, 1930. Serial No. 425,103.

merchandise of any description in that the height of the card carrying portions of dis-c play above the supporting base be readily varied and the display given prominence; regardless of the height of the stack of merchandise on the table or counter or'thelna ture of such merchandise. L Another object is to provide a highly dec 'orative device of the character notedwabove, which will be of material assistance in dress.- ing merchandise counters or tables for spef cial sale purposes, and .a display device. which, though having onlya sm'allba'se oc-, cupying but a small surface area of the table, is nevertheless, extremely unapt to g be in advertently upset in use. i i

Another object is to provide device of. a

the character noted above which is of simple,

practical, rugged and durable construction,

well suited to meet the requirements of con venient manipulation and inexpensive manufacturef The display device preferably includes a suitable standard or pedestal supporting a set of rigidly connected open card receiving frames one above the other, .each frame pref erably having an open and a closed side and channels to guide the sliding movement of a card into position. One of theseframe mem-r bers has its open side uppermost, so "that a series of novel character bearing cards or tiles may be slid in from the top in laterally abutting relationship and locked against dis is slid horizontally into the super'iacent channeled frame to block withdrawal of the tiles.

Preferably the card holding frames are'coplacement by the application of a-cardwhich;

operatively defined by a pair of substantially similar skeleton plates or facing members and an intermediate skeleton-spacer member. With these three elements rigidly'secured to-.

gether they define the desired channelsfor thecard edges and the spacer plate is cut away to define the. necessary openings through which the various cards are applied.

The invention may be more fully under;

of the various members which cooperatively constitute the display device,

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the display device,

of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing the various sign cards and character bearing elements partially withdrawn from their associated frames, and

Fig. 7 is a broken fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section through a modified form of display device.

Referring to the drawings, the upstanding portion of the display includes gener ally a front frame section A, a rear frame section B, and a central filler or spacer section C, these sections or members being superimposed one upon the other and connected by rivets or other securing device 10, to cooperatively define the standard 12 and the three integrally connected sign frames designated generally at 13, 14, and 15. I The three frames 13,14, and 15 are preferably of rectangular horizontally elongated conformation arranged one above the other with the central main frame 14 of'greater length than the two adjacent ones.

The frame defining sections A, B and Care each preferably stamped from flat stock, the outer sections A and B being of sheet metal and the central section C being of a fibrous light weight substance, which lends itself readily to a stamping process. The base 16 of the display maylikewise be of composition or other suitable material and is securely anchored to the standard 12 by laterally extending integral feet 17, bent out at-the enlarged lower ends of the sections A and B, and overlying andriveted to the baseat 18.

For the sake, primarily, of strengthening the structure, and at the same time, lending rigidity thereto, the conformation of the filler section. C, may depart from the conformation of the outer sections A and B.

.Preferably .the' filler section is larger, defining a projecting ornamental border 19 around the frame-forming portions of-the members A and B and around the standard and'enlargedbase portions thereof. Likewise, the member 0 may be provided with integral curved. bracing arms 20, extending approximatel y from the enlarged base of the pedestal tothe lower corners of the frame 14. These arms afford an integral bracing connection between theframes 13 and 14, andbetween the lower frame, or pedestal upright 12, as well as l'endingpleasing lines to the assemblage. In a. similar manner, ornamental shoulder portions 21 may be defined by the projecting generally triangular portions of the central 'filler piece at the junction corners of the frames 14 and 15.

As best seen in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the metal facing sections A and B overhang the edges of the filler section to provide card receiving channels around three sides of each frame. In the lower frame 13, the sides and bottom of the frame are closed and channeled by this conformation. The lower channel (Fig. 3) is definedby the upwardly projecting edges A and B of the front and rear facing membersA and B, which extend beyond the edge C of the central filler piece.

The lower frame 13, opens into the bottom of the lower channel. of the central frame 14. The various elongated character bearing cards or tiles 22, which cooperatively define a price tag, are slidably inserted through the top of the frame 13 and are supported at their lower ends in the bottom channel of frame 13. the two end cards are accommodated in the vertical side channels of the frame 13.

The central frame 14 is closed at its top and. at one end and at its bottom except for the portion directly over the' lower frame 13.

place within the frame 14,.closes the openingthrough which the price tag elements 22 have been inserted and effectively blocks these members against upward withdrawal. 7

Even. at the open ends of the respective frames, the metal facing members and B conceal theedges of the cards and fully protect them against casual abrasion or injury. The upper frame has closed bottom and side channels and an opening in its top through which the capping or dressing card 24 is slid vertically into position.

Inasmuch as it is usually desirable to. have the signs, readable from either side of the frame, pairs of cards are preferably placed back to back in each frame. The small char-- acter-bearing price tags, if desired, may have reinforcing sheet 25 between them to minimize the possibility of buckling.

These cards laterally abut and It will thus be seen that the applicationof the cards to their holder requires but a few moments. The cards, when in position, are fully protected, readily interchangeable, and

unlikely to become displaced during trans portation of the holder. The triple frame arrc ngement provides an especially effective means for. simultaneously displaying a nomenclature card, a price card consisting of a number of individual character-bearing cards and a sale or season or dresser card which serves as a capper and lends uniformity to a set of displays on a series of adjacent counters.

In Fig. I have illustrated a slight modification in which the filler or spacer piece and the two outside fiat facings are retained at the head or card framing portion of the stand but a different type of standard or pedestal is used. Here a downwardly facing socket member 26 has a flat extension or tongue 27 adapted to be accommodated in a suitable recess 28 in the lower portion of the lower frame member 13. This socket accom modates the upper threaded end of a standard 29 having its lower end threaded into a suitable socket 80in a base 31 of bakelite or other molded material.

If desired, standards 29 may be made of telescopic character for the purpose of raising or lowering the card carrying frame section of the display but I prefer to form these columns of some cheap, light material and provide them in various lengths so that they are conveniently interchangeable to control the height of the displays as desired.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described an article in which the several features of this invention are embodied, and which article in its action attains the various objects of the invention and is well suited to meet the requirements of practical use.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all ma ter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A display device of the character described, including a pair of generally similar skeleton superposed members forming adjacent frames, means of similar shape interposed between and connecting the members and following their general contour and completing the frames, said members cooperatively defining channels for the reception of the edges of cards to be displayed in said frames, said interposed spacer means being interrupted to provide entrance openings through which cards may he slid into the frames, the entrance opening for one card being through the channel of the adjacent frame and the entrance opening for the other frame being disposed at right angles to the entrance opening of the first, whereby when cards are slid into position in the two frames, one card will lock the other against displacement.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a card carrying display stand comprising a pair of generally similar outer frame members, and means comprising a third frame member of substantially the same shape as said outer frame members and disposed between them cooperating with them to define a card framing structure, said members being extended to provide a standard for said framing structure.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a card carrying display stand comprising a pair of generally similar outer frame members, means disposed between them cooperatmg with them to define a card framing structure, said members being. extended to provide a standard for said framing structure, a base member and outwardly turned feet at the lower ends of said extensions secured to said base member.

V 4. As a new article of manufacture, a card carrying display stand comprising a pair of generally similar outer frame members, means disposed between them cooperating with them to define a card framing structure, said members being extended to provide a standard for said framing structure and said means including integral bracing portions disposed laterally, and lending rigidity to the frame structure.

5. A' display device of the class described including three overlying generally similar- 1y shaped sections, secured together and cooperatively defining a card receiving frame,

the outer sections overlapping the inner section along certain edges to provide channels for the device to be framed and the intermediate section extending beyond the outer sections at certain portions to provide an ornamental border, said sections each having downward projecting superposed portions at the bottoms thereof to enable the device to be supported. 7 i V Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 30th day of January, A. D. 1930.

TEX OROURKE. 

